Edited on 5/11/2012

30 Minutes

"Everything you know and love is going to change in thirty minutes. After this, nothing will ever be the same again."

00:30:00

Draco Malfoy was not one to lose his cool. As a Malfoy he had a certain image to maintain, certain levels of decorum and propriety to uphold. Even at moments of high emotional stress he must always maintain a cool detached expression. He was expected to do nothing less. Smiles must never touch his eyes. Laughs must not come from the heart. Tears must never make grace upon his cheeks. He was a Malfoy, and if there is one thing a Malfoy is not it is weak. These were rules taught to him from an early age. They governed his life. Everything he had ever been or will ever be is built around these rules. His father had taught him to never allow himself to appear vulnerable or it may cost him any advantage he might have held. At his father knee he had been taught to manipulate emotions, both his own and those of others, and use them to his needs. The world must never know more than he wished it to. His face must never show more than a picture of calm and cool. Not that any of this mattered anymore, because in thirty minutes everything would change.

00:28:49

Thinking back, Draco realized, he never really did have much of a choice. From the moment he was born to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy everything he did had been building up to this moment. From the moment Lucius laid eyes upon his first and only son, Draco's life had been out of his control. From his first steps to his first words, he was being shaped into who his father wanted him to be. From the friends he made to the games he played, it had all been controlled by the man he called father. He was being conditioned from the very beginning. He was to not like this thing, or care for that, because his father did not approve. He was to enjoy this and love that, because his father expected him to. None of his thoughts or ideas was his own; they were all implanted by Lucius. He was to be the perfect son, whether he liked it or not. But that didn't matter now when everything was about to change in twenty-five minutes.

00:23:56

With all of his childhood spent conditioning him to be a certain way even if he did want to change he lacked the ability to do so. More than once he had had second thoughts. Moments of what his father would call weakness, when his resolve would waver and he would want out. Out of this crazy scheme, out of these family ties, out of this life, out of all of it, out of none of it; he just wanted out. Unfortunately for him he did not know any other way to live. He could only be who his father made him to be. It was sad really. To think that his life had been stolen from him before he even got the chance to live it. Sometimes, when he was alone, he would imagine how he would be had not his father controlled him. If he had been born to some other man, if he had had some other life, who would he be then? For surely he wouldn't be the person he was now. But if dreams were broomsticks, the Weasleys would fly forever. The Weasleys. It was pitiful how Draco sometimes found himself envying the poor Weasleys. They were a family with little money, yet their children were richer than him. It may sound corny, but even Draco could recognize someone rich on familial love. Draco could lay claims to many things, but the love of his family wasn't one of them. From the Malfoys he only received high expectations and looks of disappoint, for they were never satisfied. Not that any of the matter right now, in another fifteen minutes nothing would ever be the same again.

00:16:37

One could not think of the Weasleys without thinking of the boy who had attached himself to them like a lost puppy and adopted them as the family he'd never had. Draco didn't really want to think of Harry Potter, he'd done that too much already and doing so again would only have adverse affects on his state of mind. Not that he was in the most stable state of mind at the moment. In fact Draco was sure he was completely nutters at this particular second in the time that was running out for everyone. But didn't thoughts of the Boy-Who-Wouldn't-End-His-Suffering-And-Just-Die-Already always drive him completely nutters? Well, since his mind didn't want to let go of thoughts of a certain green-eyed savior, Draco might as well delve deeper into the torture. Harry Potter… where should he start on the subject of Harry Potter? Let's see. It has already been mentioned how the boy drove Draco crazy, let's follow along that path and list the reasons why Harry Potter would be the reason Draco ended up locked in St. Mungos' Psych Ward. For one: he was bloody EVERYWHERE! In the newspaper, on the radio, in books, in magazines, in the hallways, in the classroom, staring a Draco from across the Great Hall, even in Draco's dreams; everywhere he turned Potter was there. It was driving him nuts! And another thing: people would not stop talking about him! In the newspapers, on the radio, in the hallways, in the classrooms, the Great Hall, the Quidditch Pitch; the way people talked about him you would swear he was Merlin himself. It was always Potter this and Harry that, Draco couldn't stand it! And then there was the fact that everyone thought he was so bloody PERFECT! As if Harry wasn't human. He could do no wrong. He had a cult like following that worshiped him like so type a deity that could only do well and bring about peace. Even when he did wrong he was still perfect. It drove Draco up the wall. But the main reason why the Gryffindor golden boy had Draco going stark raving mad; Draco was completely and utterly in love with him. Lucius would be so disappointed. Draco couldn't even fathom how he managed to fall heels over arse for Harry Bloody Potter, but he had. His heart was the one thing in his life that his father had no control over and it had proved that Draco couldn't control it either. He loved Harry Potter and that wasn't changing. In just under ten minutes the world as he knew it would cease to exist and it was too late to change his feelings now.

00:08:23

His one regret would be not telling Harry how he felt. If he could go back and change anything it would be being born to the controlling Lucius Malfoy, because then maybe he would have had a chance. Harry and he both were victims of circumstance. They were both a part of something bigger, something they couldn't control. But when he looked into the ethereal emerald lanterns of Harry's eyes, Draco could almost believe that they were in control. Whenever he was graced with Harry's presence in a non-hostile situation he would wish they were someone else, someone with a choice. Draco found himself completely enamored with Harry and everything about him; he wished that fate had dealt them both different hands. Life had given him lemons, but his father wouldn't let him make lemonade. With just five minutes until everything would change irrevocably, Draco dreamed of a different destiny.

00:05:20

Waiting had to be the most nerve-wracking experience ever. It was almost torture. Knowing what was about to happen, counting down the clock, growing anxious, but not being able to do anything but wait. He'd run out of things to think about. He'd run out of wishes. He'd run out of dreams. He hated this. He needed to DO something. Three minutes from now nothing was going to be the same and all he could do was wait.

00:02:58

He had never had a choice. Harry hadn't had one either. Maybe this was punishment for something done in a past life. Two minutes…

00:01:48

It really was too late for regret now. He had the opportunity to back out before, but he didn't know how else to live. And he didn't want his father thinking him weak. Fifty-nine seconds…

00:00:57

He wasn't a weak person. He wasn't allowed to be. He was a Malfoy. Fifty seconds…

00:00:46

His father would be proud. Maybe he would finally be able to do what he never could in childhood, make his father smile for real. Thirty-eight seconds…

00:00:34

He wanted Harry. With all his heart he wanted Harry. But he was a Malfoy. Didn't that mean he had no heart? Thirty-one seconds…

00:00:29

Draco was not one to lose his cool. He had a certain level of propriety and decorum to uphold. Fifteen seconds…

00:00:11

Smiles were made for concealing secrets. Laughs were meant to hide lies. No other emotion should matter but your pride. Seven seconds…

00:00:04

Draco Malfoy was crying. Two seconds…

00:00:00

"There's no telling if it will be a good change, or a bad change, but in thirty minutes your world will change forever. And it will change again thirty minutes after that."